SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Feb. 11, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Veritas Pharma Puerto Rico, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Veritas Pharma, Inc. (CSE: VRT; OTC: VRTHF; and Frankfurt: 2VP) (“Veritas”), in partnership with the Institute for Medical Cannabis (“IMC”) and the Fundación de Investigación (“FDI”) were approved this past Friday for an Investigation License from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Medicinal Cannabis Regulatory Board allowing clinical evaluation of their lead cannabis product (“CTL-X”) in alleviating acute pain. IMC and FDI represent two of Puerto Rico’s leading researchers in medicinal cannabis. The concession is also the first of its kind, representing the first collaboration of such by local partners and a foreign-owned and publicly-traded entity.

The trio’s license marks the commencement of the first human trials for medicinal cannabis to be carried out on the island since the approval of the Medicinal Cannabis Act of 2017 by the Commonwealth government. Veritas has licensed the intellectual property of its patented strains to IMC, whom in turn provide samples to the FDI for direct research to be carried out in the latter’s San Juan-based clinical research facilities. The trial will start this week and it is estimated that they will take up to three months to complete.

FDI operates state-of-the-art facilities and includes a 30-bed phase I unit, an in-house bioanalytical laboratory, experienced multispecialty personnel, and the latest in medical technology. CEO and Chief Scientific Officer Dr. José F. Rodríguez-Orengo is a recognized research specialist on the island, who also acts as Associate Director of the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine’s Department of Biochemistry. In the past, FDI’s clinical trials have been sponsored by seven of the top ten pharmaceutical companies from around the world.

Veritas’ director Nick Standish commented, “We are pleased with the news of receiving this research license in Puerto Rico. The Veritas and Cannevert teams have worked very hard to get to this point, and this license means we can take these next important steps forward that get us that much closer to having a marketable medical cannabis product, backed with real and credible science.”

Veritas’ Medical Director Dr. Scott Alexander states, “After being met with delays of the extended holiday season in Puerto Rico and the recent 35-day US federal government shut down, we are extremely proud to be the first group to obtain an Investigational License and we are very eager to start to study the efficacy of CTL-X in an adult human population. We are also looking forward to collaborating with IMC and what it means for the development of new medical cannabis products. The industry is relatively new, and the offering has yet to catch up with the demand for new and diverse products.” The trials represent Veritas’ latest advancement in Puerto Rico’s market, which has seen exponential growth since the government’s regulation of medicinal cannabis. The number of certified patient licenses has grown 58% since September 2018, when the Regulatory Board rolled out a new online application process for patient licenses. Previously, Board offices were characterized by long lines of citizens applying for their licenses.

About the Institute for Medical CannabisThe Institute for Medical Cannabis is one of Puerto Rico’s leading industry specialists that provides cultivation, extraction, formulation, multiple forms of production, research, and distribution using the best, award-winning strains, technology, and processes that the industry offers. Located on a private 25-acre farm in Ponce, Puerto Rico, IMC’s facilities and operations are designed to withstand hurricane wind loads, control temperature and humidity, and maximize the island’s natural sunlight. Licensed under Puerto Rico’s State Department Medical Cannabis Health Code, last year IMC became the first local cannabis business to be certified as “Clean Green,” thus surpassing USDA-standards for organic products.

For more information, please visit their website: imc-pr.com

About the Fundación de Investigación The Fundación de Investigación (or “Foundation for Investigation”) is one of Puerto Rico’s leading clinical researchers with the only Phase 1 and Bio-Analytical Laboratory on the island. The FDI has successfully completed hundreds of FDA-regulated clinical trials sponsored by some of the world’s top pharmaceutical companies. In FDI’s Bioanalytical laboratory, multiple analytical assays have been developed and validated, converting FDI’s clinic to a one-stop-shop for pharmaceutical companies.

For more information, please visit their website: fundaciondeinvestigacion.com

About Veritas Pharma Puerto Rico, Inc.Veritas Pharma Inc. is an emerging pharmaceutical and IP development company, which, through its 100% owned subsidiary Veritas Pharma Puerto Rico, Inc., is advancing the science behind medical cannabis. It is the Company’s aim, through its investment in a Puerto Rico subsidiary to develop the most effective cannabis strains (cultivars) specific to pain, nausea, epilepsy, and PTSD, solving the critical need for clinical data to support medical marijuana claims. Veritas’ unique value proposition uses a low-cost research and development model to help drive shareholder value and speed-to-market. Veritas’ investment is led by a strong management team, bringing together veteran academic pharmacologists, anesthetists & chemists. The company’s commercial mission is to patent protect IP (cultivars & strains) and sell or license to cancer clinics, the insurance industry, and pharma, targeting multi-billion-dollar markets according to Deloitte’s Insights and Opportunities.

Veritas Pharma Inc. is a publicly traded company in Canada, on the Canadian Stock Exchange under the ticker VRT; in the United States, on the OTC under the ticker VRTHF; and in Germany, on the Frankfurt exchange under the ticker 2VP.